Somewhere Over the Rainbow
by Bacon-Chan
Summary: A brused ankle and a rainy day. Pepperony. More coming soon!
1. It's Just an Ordinary Day

((Alright, first fic I've ever posted online, EVER. First Iron Man fic as well. This is chapter one and more should be coming soon. Please no flaming and I don't own any part of the Marvel Universe or Iron Man movie-verse or the song that inspired the title. ;) think that covers everything))

**Chapter One: It's Just an _"Ordinary"_ Day**

The rain pattered outside the tall glass door to the balcony. The grey-blue clouds shifted and parted about the sky. Pepper sighed as she stared out from the bed at the deluge. She pushed some of her reddish-blonde hair out of her vision as it fell onto her face. She looked down at her ankle which found itself wrapped in a cast. Why did she do it? She pondered this as she continued to look at her bused ankle. Working for Tony Stark was quite the endeavor.

* * *

Pepper had started out the day as she always did: filing paper work, making phone calls, making her boss happy (within reason), a busy normal day. But with Tony, things were always difficult. Today she was in charge of organizing Stark industry's Investor Dinner which meant a million things had to be done. Multi-tasking was one of Pepper's talents, and she got to it right away. She was sitting on Tony's coach in his living room (as she often did while working) staring at the computer screen in her lap, typing away as she answered her blackberry. She had an office now but, she had been in there all morning and needed a change in scenery.

She was on an important phone call with Mr. Trump when Tony walked in. Pepper didn't look up to acknowledge him but, she was well aware of his presence. With an ego like Tony's, who wouldn't notice? He hardly had to do anything to announce himself.

"Miss Potts, I'm having a few people over, I'll be down by the pool." He announced and then promptly left the room going outside and down stairs.

"Yes, right sir." She was answering Mr. Trump on the phone as she looked over at Tony. She knew he had said something, but she was taking awhile to process it. After all, she was talking on the phone, and typing, and chatting with the chief online about what would be served at the dinner. As he walked away she bit her lip, _"Where is he going?" _she wondered.

An hour later Pepper had finished four business calls, had typed up investing forms for the dinner and had gotten most of the menu items selected. It was then she finally looked up from her work. She could hear loud music coming from outside...

Virginia (Pepper) got up from the coach, setting her laptop aside, to look out the window. Her eyes widen at what she saw. It wasn't very shocking just, something that should not be happening. "Jarvis…what's going on?" She asked the A.I.

"I believe Mr. Stark is throwing a party." The voice overhead chimed. There indeed was a large party going on, in and around the pool.

"Tony…" she sighed in disapproval.

"Mr. Stark did inform you about this while you were on the phone about 65.12 minutes-"

Pepper shook her head, "shut up Jarvis." She slipped her phone into her pocket and headed out and down the stairs.


	2. Wipeout!

_(Here it is! Chapter two :D Enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews! Now on to finding out how dear Pepper broke her ankle)_

**_Chapter 2: Wipeout!_**

The music boomed across the small sea of people that she saw below. Pepper contained herself as she walked down the stairs to confront Tony. He wasn't hard to find. Two blonde bimbos were currently enthralled in whatever it was he was saying to them.

"Dude! Who's the hottie? Ow, ow!" Some twenty-something shouted as she passed. Pepper ignored him and kept walking.

Tony was lying on his stomach on a raft located on the right side of the pool, talking to his I.Q.-less public. "And that, ladies, is how Iron Man saved the orphanage from burning down." The women giggled and clung to Anthony (Tony) evermore.

Pepper stopped and addressed him from the 'shore,' "Tony-"

"Pepper! Great, you're here. Join the party!"

"Mr. Stark, get out of the pool."

"Why?"

"You have an investors dinner tonight and I need to go over some things with you before hand, you are-"

As she was talking he started to talk over her, "No, that's tonight, not now. You need to relax."

"The dinner isn't that far from now." Pepper was getting frustrated, he always did this.

"I don't need as much time to get ready as say…you." he gestured a hand toward her. He put a hand under his chin. "What are you wearing? Is it the blue dress? You really should wear that one more often."

"Tony that's not the point-"

"I think it is."

"What I'm trying to say is-"

"Do you have a swimsuit?" he shrugged, "I'm sure whatever you have on under that is fine. So-"

"Tony, get out of the pool."

"But-"

"Get out of the pool." She crossed her arms.

He raised his eyebrows, contemplating what to do next. Tony didn't have long to think, as two young men came up behind Pepper. "Hey babe, you need to chill out" one of them said.

"Wha-" she was about to protest when they continued.

"Let's dunk the babe!" the other young man said and they both let out a 'whoop' of delight. Others nearby cheered. Pepper was not as thrilled as they were. Both young men pushed her at full force from behind.

"No!" she squealed as she found herself flying face first into the pool. As she was falling in, the heel of her shoe caught on the side of the pool, snapping the heel off and snapping her ankle. Pepper shrieked in pain as she hit the water. Tony saw her look of pain and when he saw how much she was struggling to stay above the water, he knew something was wrong.

"Sorry ladies." He pushed himself off of the raft and swam to Pepper. He put an arm around her waist, helping her to stay afloat, "What's wrong?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"It hurts! My ankle." She said, willingly accepting his help. Virginia put her arms around his neck as he nodded his head and took her to the shallow end of the pool. Tony picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the water.

The two young men were giving each other a high-five and laughing. "That was awesome bro." one said to the other. They began to chat about how they each deserved a beer when-

"Music off!"

The music suddenly stopped and Tony's authoritative speaking voice boomed over the crowd, "Party's over."

There was a chorus of disappointed 'awes' and angry exclamations but, nobody dared to argue with the party thrower himself. They were well aware of Tony Stark's super-hero persona and did not want to tick him off.

Tony looked down at Miss Potts who was now in his arms. She had a pained look on her face and held her eyes shut in an attempt not to cry. This was not working as tears trickled down her cheek. Tony felt guilt wash over him. This was his fault. Pepper wouldn't be in pain if he hadn't been so 'irresponsible', as she would put it. "Hang in there; let's take a look at that ankle." He said as he began to carry her inside.

She nodded in reply. Pepper rested her head on Tony, not even caring it was Tony, or that he currently wasn't wearing a shirt. She didn't care; she just wanted the pain to go away. Currently, Pepper was also pained by something else…her Blackberry was in her pocket, and it was soaking wet.


	3. Iron Foot

**(Sorry this took so long but it's finally here! Winter break is here and so is more time to write, yay! :D Please enjoy this chapter and review it too! ****Also I'm open to ideas for this fic as well as ideas for other fics! I have an outline of how this fic is going to go and it's intended to be six chapters long but, it could go on longer if perhaps you guys would like there to be more of Tony helping Pepper to recover from her current state. Alright, onward to the chapter!) **

**Chapter 3: Iron-Foot**

Tony quickly carried Miss Potts down into his workshop. The glass door slid open and he set her gently down onto the cool metal table where she had replaced his Arc reactor. Tony was not a doctor by any means, but he had everything and more that doctor would require to fix Pepper's ankle in his workshop. He noticed her shivering (as she was soaking wet still) and he tossed her a towel hoping it would help her as he worked.

"Mr. Stark," she said through her teeth, "can't we just go to the hospital?"

"The waiting, the crowds, the paparazzi…I'm thinking this will by a time saver.

"Tony…" she gave him a pleading look.

He brushed some of her hair out of her face and replied in a serious tone, "Pepper, if it's anything serious, I promise I will take you."

Pepper stared at him, testing his moment of non-sarcasm, making sure it was genuine. The pain reminded her that she wanted him to hurry though and she nodded her head, trusting he'd do it if he had to.

Tony immediately got to work, "Jarvis, x-ray Pepper's ankle."

"Right away, sir," The A.I. responded.

An x-ray of her ankle appeared on a clear screen floating before Tony. He looked it over thoughtfully and pointed to a spot on the screen, "Zoom." The picture enlarged. "What is this, here? Is this a break, Jarvis?"

"It's a slight fracture of the bone. It will take some time to heal, but nothing is seriously damaged." Jarvis replied.

"So, how do we fix this?" Tony asked.

"It will require a splint and a cast, sir. The ankle should also be elevated to help the swelling go down. Cold packs will help with the swelling as well. Also, Miss Potts will require crutches and bed rest. It will take at least six weeks for the bone to heal."

Tony glanced over at Pepper who groaned in annoyance at the A.I.'s reply.

"That all?" Tony questioned as he started to gather up supplies.

"If Miss Potts is in pain she might require pain reducers such as Excedrin or, perhaps something stronger depending on-"

"I am in pain!" Pepper interjected. "Please, hurry up!"

"I'd go with the something stronger." Tony said raising his eyebrows. He grabbed a syringe and a bottle of something else out of a metal drawer.

"Tony." She looked over at him.

"Hm?" Mr. Stark filled the syringe up with a clear liquid. He taped the side of it with his finger nail.

"You can not miss this dinner tonight. I can't miss this dinner-"

"Pepper it will be fine." Tony took the needle over to her ankle.

"Some major backers will be there and we need the funding. Our new-"

"Yep, they'll understand."

"What are you doing?" she now noticed the syringe that he was holding.

"Codeine."

"I can't be on-"

"Relax."

"But, how the hell-dah!" She shrieked. He stuck the needle into her ankle and pushed the pain killer in.

"There, you see, no more pain. Trust me, it works." He smiled at Pepper's glare.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Pepper asked as Tony had a plethora of items he was fiddling with.

"No, but Jarvis does."

Pepper sighed and laid her head back against the slanted table, "Wonderful."

He smiled yet again at her sarcasm. Tony prepared to take off the remained of Pepper's shoe. She yelped and clinched her teeth together as he slipped it off. "Sorry," he grimaced and placed a cold pack on her ankle.

Pepper closed her eyes as she had started to feel the effects of the codeine. She wanted to relax, but so many things were on her mind. She had so much she still had to do. Why did this have to happen now…or at all? She sighed.

Tony in the mean time was mentally beating himself up. He had to make this right, in any way he could. She was always there for him, above and beyond. This was his fault. He had to help her. He looked at Pepper's face. Her eyes were now closed, but her expression spoke louder than any words. It was her worried look. Tony could tell, he could always tell. It was a look he would often receive from her. He wished he could reassure her somehow. Her job was her life and he knew this would kill her. Hopefully he could soften the blow. She really did need a break, perhaps this could be a vacation for her. Tony hoped when she awoke he could put her mind at ease. He looked back at her ankle. He had to make this right…he would make this right.

Tony sculpted the cast with precision and care. Like a thoughtful watchmaker he carefully crafted it. Tony was very gentle with Pepper's ankle as well, handling her like a porcelain doll. She hadn't moved once since he had started. Her eyes were closed the entire time. She was enjoying the pain free experience. Pepper even found herself drifting off and falling asleep.

* * *

"It's done."

"Hmm?" Pepper opened her eyes, "That was fast, quicker than I thought it would take."

He shrugged, "I've built things way more complicated than this. Why don't you take a look and see what you think."

Pepper nodded her head, "For not knowing what you were doing you seem pretty pleased with yourself."

"Well, it is not your average cast. More like a work of art."

"…what?" Pepper jerked up and looked down at her ankle, "What! No, no, no! What did you do to my ankle?"

"I call it, 'Ironfoot'. I'll have that copyrighted by tonight." He smiled.

Where Pepper's left foot would normally be was a metal boot like that of Tony's Ironman suit.

"No, oh no! Tony!" Pepper shrieked and then felt herself being gently shaken by two strong hands on her shoulders.

"Pepper?"

Her eyes fluttered open and her breathing starting to slow down to a regular pace.

"You alright?" Came a gentle voice as a hand brushed her cheek, "Sounds like you were having a nightmare."

Pepper had been awakened for real this time. She blinked staring up at Mr. Stark's face. "My foot is still a foot, right?"

"…yes?" he looked confused.

"Oh, thank God."

"Look for yourself," Tony gestured toward her ankle.

She sat up and looked down at her ankle; it was in a normal honest-to goodness cast. The only unique thing about this cast was that it had been autographed by a super-hero. Tony had written his John Hancock in red maker next to a hand drawn smiley face.

Pepper smiled, "It's perfect. Thank you, Mr. Stark."

He smiled back, "You're welcome, Miss Potts."

"Now, I need to call the Hyatt and make sure they reserved the conference room and-" she coughed and shivered slightly.

"No you don't. I found this in your pocket," he held up her Blackberry. "And like you, it needs some important rest and drying out, before it will be able to function normally."

"But, this meeting cannot wait! I don't have time to rest and, what were you doing in my pockets?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You need to take off your clothes."

"Wha…what, what! I most certainly will not! I'm not just going to give-"

He held up his hands in defense, "Whoa, hold on Miss Potts! I mean, you need to change. You're freezing in those wet clothes. I can't have you getting sick." Tony smirked.

She stopped and pressed her lips together. "You could have said that first."

"And miss that reaction? Miss Potts, really, where is your mind?" he wriggled his eyebrows in an inappropriate manor.

She held a straight face, "I only know where yours always seems to be."

There was a pause. Tony shrugged and gave her a look of innocence. He then continued, "Pepper, I'm giving you the rest of this week off. Jarvis said you needed to rest and so, you are going to rest."

"But Tony-" she stammered but he stopped her with a finger to her lips.

"Not another word." He smiled "Come on, I happen to have some woman's clothing up stairs." He picked her up in his arms once again. Tony was still shirtless and in his swim trunks. The glow from the Arc Reactor in his chest illumined Pepper's face as she smiled slightly, "Heh, I bet you do."

They exited his workshop and he headed up stairs.


	4. Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops

**(Hello fans! :D I'm back! Sorry this took two years to update lol thank you for those of you who are sticking with it as well as new fans. *hugs* Love you all! Ok, here's the chapter! As always, review and don't be shy at offering ideas or making requests, who knows! It might end up a part of the story :) **

**Alright, I still don't own Iron Man or any of the characters or the Wizard of Oz or the song, Somewhere over the Rainbow. Ok think that covers my butt. Onward!)**

**Chapter 4: Where Troubles Melt like Lemon Drops**

Tony did have a small array of woman's clothing in his spare bedroom. Some pieces Pepper unfortunately recognized from women in Tony's past. They were pieces that had escaped her old dry cleaning routine. She was thankful that since Tony's transformation in Afghanistan she hadn't had to resort to her 'clean-up-Mr.-Stark's-conquests' routine. Tony's mind was always bouncing from project to project to Iron Man these days. He was still a playboy, but not as much as he had been in the past. Pepper admired this change in him, although she would never say it to his face. Especially not at this moment, as she was rather upset with him.

Tony had left the room to throw on a t-shirt and slacks while Pepper changed in the spare room. She had picked out what she wanted to wear before he left the room because she would have to change laying down, so the clothing had to be left on the bed for her. Putting clothing on was a challenge with a lame ankle.

Pepper had chosen what she thought would be comfortable in her current state. Tony had suggested some other pieces but much to his disappointment she had refused to wear them. Pepper slipped on a button up dress shirt and some wide-bottom grey slacks that fit over her cast. She was naturally skinny so she was surprised and happy to find something that she wasn't swimming in. They were a tad shorter than her dress pants at home but not many women were her height ether.

There was a slight knock at the door followed by a voice, "Are you decent?" Before Pepper could answer Tony entered the room. He saw that indeed she did have clothes on and muttered, "Damn, you are."

Pepper rolled her eyes and shook her head. She propped up a pillow to make her current spot more comfortable.

Tony shrugged, "You know me, I think you're beautiful in whatever you're wearing…or not wearing" A pillow hit the side of his head, one that had been thrown by Pepper. Tony would have caught the pillow but currently his hands were full. He held some ice packs in one hand and a bag of potato chips in the other. "Hey! Is that any way to treat your doctor?"

Pepper had gotten her spot the way that she wanted and sat back against several pillows. She avoided his question and looked him in the eye, "Tony, why did you throw that party?"

He avoided her eye contact, feeling guilty once more, "Why do I ever throw parties? I was bored." He shrugged.

She raised an eyebrow, "You were bored? I had a trillion things to do-"

"A trillion wow." he interjected as she spoke.

"with your life,"

"Hmm, are you sure, that's figuratively impossible." he continued to speak as she spoke.

"and you were bored?" Pepper concluded.

There was a pause then he shrugged, "You're my PA, that's what you do, it's your job."

"Ha! My job? And what, your job is to have parties and carelessly throw around your identity as if you were invincible?" she shook her head, "It seems that being the responsible adult, running your life and fixing your problems is my job. But sometimes you're just so!" Pepper growled and turned her gaze to look out at the deluge outside. She sighed letting her frustration melt into disappointment.

There were so many words Tony could have inserted at the end of her sentence. He stared at her briefly then set down the ice packs and chips on a near-by coffee table. "Yeah, I'm so…I get it." He looked down and sighed, "Pepper, I apologize. I guess being a super hero and being Tony Stark is an oxymoron….well, actually Tony's been acting like a moron lately. But you got to admit, that was a great party. I mean did you see how many people were there? And those girls were all-"

She glared Tony into shutting up, "Ruining the apology Tony."

"Ok ok, I'm sorry, no more reckless parties." He grinned. "Good?"

Pepper smiled slightly, "Better."

"Besides," Tony picked up the things off the coffee table, "I'm going to make it up to you. Miss Potts, you are in good hands." He set the chips next to her on the bed. "I'll be taking care of you while you're out of commission."

Pepper grinned, "Really? You?" She said with sarcasm.

"Yes me. Really Pepper your lack of confidence in me is starting to sting." He set the ice bags down on her ankle.

She cringed, "Ow, cold."

"Ice is cold." He smirked

She ignored that, "Tony, what about my job? I can't just lie around! Who's going to take care of that?"

There was a long pause. "I'll do it."

Pepper just stared at Tony. She tried to process if she had heard him correctly. She blinked and shook her head, "What?"

"I'll do it. Really how hard could it be? Answer phone calls, write things down in a date book, plan benefit meetings-"

"It's a little more involved than-"

"There's nothing to it. I can build an arc reactor from memory, being my own P.A. will be a piece of cake." Tony looked to Pepper, actually waited for her to object. She felt annoyed and insulted but thought better of it. Pepper raised her eyebrows and smiled. As much as she hated Tony taking over her job, she knew it would teach him a lesson. He might even learn to appreciate her more. "Alright."

Now he was confused. Tony looked at her with a perplexed expression. She hadn't fought back, what was she planning? Instead of showing this lack of understanding he put on his poker face. "Ok then."

Pepper wasn't stupid of course; she would careful monitor Tony to make sure he didn't run all of her work into the ground. But, this would be the perfect lesson for him as well as the perfect punishment. She watched him as he walked back over to the end of the bed. He knelt down, putting her cast at eye level.

"Let's adjust this a bit." He said as he took off the ice packs and set them to the side.

She continued to watch him with keen interest as he gently elevated he foot with a pillow and placed the ice packs into the best possible spots. He exercised such care with her ankle, as if it were as important as her head. She noted his eyes; the care written in them was different than that when he would tinker with one of his inventions. This was not the look of a proud or thoughtful maker but, a look of intimacy and concern. Pepper felt her cheeks grow warm as she blushed. Tony Stark was a remarkable man. There was an awkward silence in the room. It felt uncomfortable, too uncomfortable for Pepper. She needed to say something to fill up the silence. Having quiet, interment moments with her boss were still considered uncouth in her mind. As much as she did love Tony, she didn't want the world to think of her as a slut. She looked away from him, outside at the rain. She loved rainy days like these. Pepper smiled as a memory from her childhood came to her mind. Before she knew it, the silence was being filled as she spoke the memory that had come to her, "When I was a little girl, my dad told me the story of 'The Wizard of OZ'. I loved that story, well; I loved anytime I could spend with my dad. I would ask him again and again to tell me that story but he'd say I'd have to wait. He would say, 'Ginny that story's a special story and that's why we save it for rainy days. It reminds us that after the storm a rainbow's coming, and with that there's always hope.'" She looked off at the rain as she remembered. Pepper brought herself back to the present and shook her head, "It's silly but ever since then, rainbows have fascinated me. I mean, I know now how they're reflected light and such but, I think they're beautiful, you know? They're a symbol of hope, and everyone needs that." She laughed slightly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shared all that."

"Why not?" Tony gazed at her in fascination. His eyes now reflecting his heart's care for her. He absorbed every word that she had to say. He didn't know a lot about Pepper's family or past for that matter. She didn't talk about it much. Of course he was her boss so she usually tried to keep their conversations only about business. Tony who was never about business though, always tried to steer her off course. This time though, he didn't need to do the steering. She had opened up on her own.

"Because, Tony, you're my…" She found herself starring back at his gaze, unable to look away. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes reflected the same care he felt for her.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Sir, excuse me, Mr. Stark." Jarvis' voice interrupted.

Pepper released a breath she had been holding and looked down, turning red.

Tony grinned and found himself unwilling to look away from her. "Yeah, Jarvis?"

"Sorry to intrude but you have a call from Trump International on hold. He is asking a question in regards to the dinner tonight."

Tony sighed in annoyance and stood up, "Jarvis, what did I tell you about business calls?"

"Sir, you told me to patch though any important calls." The computer voice replied.

"Right and business isn't important to me so, what's the rule about that?" Tony asked.

"That's what PA's are for."

"Exactly." Tony replied and Pepper cleared her throat to get Tony's attention. He turned toward her, "That doesn't sound good; maybe you should get that checked out."

"Your PA is out of commission remember?"

"Oh…right, lame ankle-"

"So Tony, you agreed to do my job. That means taking this phone call."

Tony nodded his head, "I did say that, why did you let me say that?"

"Go get em Iron Man" Pepper responded with a smirk.

"Alright, patch it though to my cell Jarvis. Oh, and make me a list of those who will be present. Also have my tux pressed while you're at it." Tony waited as the AI responded.

Pepper was surprised, Tony was thinking ahead; maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

His cell started to buzz and he pressed answer, "Hey there Trumpy. You're fired! Ha, yeah I'm kidding. How's the 3rd wife?"

Pepper looked mortified, ok maybe not.


	5. Pepper SMASH!

**(Hi! Oh my gosh guys, thank you so much for the reviews and suggestions. :D I'm so glad so many of you love this story! Thanks for sticking with me and hello awesome new fans as well! I love you all, Tony plushies all around! The Avengers was wonderful I must say. Anywho, enjoy this chapter, I hope you all like it! I don't own Iron man, Tony or Pepper or any of it...or the Hulk)**

**Chapter 5: Pepper SMASH!**

The walls of papers stacked in Tony's work shop had accumulated everywhere. It was a fortress of documentation, which is something Tony never wanted his super hero hideout to be labeled. "_The __billionaire-playboy-__philanthropist__ hangout of tomorrow"_ was one idea he had played with. Other super heroes labeled their secret hideouts, so, why not? He was a super hero; his hideout deserved an awesome name. But this idea would have to wait for another day; currently Tony had to deal with the elimination of the evil documents that had taken over.

He sat in his desk chair glancing through a document and signing the bottom. He put it into a stack and picked up his phone as it rang. "Hi, no this is not the amazing Tony Stark. Nope, sorry, wrong number." He hung up. It seemed like the billionth phone call today! He had never received or answered so many phone calls in his life.

"Sir, I don't believe Miss Potts would appreciate the way you are ignoring company calls." Jarvis noted.

"I don't believe I asked you Jarvis for your opinion." Why had he agreed to this? "Narcissistic tendencies." He muttered under his breath. Pepper's job, on top of his job, on top of Iron Man's job was proving difficult.

The phone rang again. He looked annoyingly toward the celling knowing Jarvis would guilt trip him some more if he ignored this call as well. He pushed the receive button and held the phone to his ear, "Stark Industries. …Is he available for a meeting tonight, let me check." He held the phone away from his ear, "Jarvis am I available for a meeting tonight?"

"You do have an opening tonight-"

"No can do, he's a bit preoccupied." Tony quickly answered, ignoring Jarvis. "Yep, I'm sure he'd love to merge with you too, some other time? Uh-huh, meeting with RA Industries, ok, I'll let him know." He hung up. "No comments Jarvis."

"I wouldn't dream of it sir." The snarky A.I. replied.

Tony turned to Dummy. The robot hand was signing papers best he could and putting the papers into a stack next to him. "How's it going over there Dummy?" As soon as these words came out, the robot turned its hand to face Tony, knocking down two stacks of paper.

Tony stared at the mess and then turned away, "Why did I ask."

"_Buzz Buzz Buzz…"_ a noise sounded throughout the workshop.

"It's Miss-" Jarvis started but was quickly cut off by Tony.

"Yes, I know. I'll be right there." Tony stood up and before leaving spoke to Dummy, "Why didn't I donate you? I can't remember! Not exactly coming to me here." The robot lowered it arm in shame. "Fine, fine you know what, here's another chance, just clean up your mess."

Dummy opened and closed its claw in reply and began to try and pick up the papers.

Tony bounded his way out the door of his lab and up the stairs.

* * *

Tony's punishment to take on Pepper's job was proving to be more of a punishment for herself. She hated not working. Her blackberry had been disabled be Tony and kept out of her reach. Any personal calls came through Jarvis to her and all business calls were redirected to Tony. Pepper still was unsure about this whole set-up. She wanted to go home. If the press found out about any of this, she might have to quit her job to avoid scandal. She didn't want to do that. Her job was everything to her. But Tony informed her everything would be fine. He had told the press that Miss Potts was on a much needed vacation and they didn't seem to suspect a thing.

The one good thing that had come out of this was Tony really was at her beck and call. The "service button" had been his idea after Pepper had accidently rolled off the bed and couldn't get back up. She tried to but finally had to tell Jarvis to get Tony. He felt very guilty about the whole thing although Pepper insisted it wasn't his fault. His solution to this so it wouldn't happen again was a service button. Pepper hated this idea. She was used to doing everything for herself and thought having someone wait on her was a ridiculous notion. But Tony of course wanted his way and had gotten it by utter annoyance.

She hadn't thought he would actually be the one waiting on her. She just assumed he would build a robot or something to do the job. But as he had said he would, he was the one wanting on her. It was strange and wonderful. Pepper had not expected this. She knew what kind of man Tony truly was, more than anyone else did and yet she hadn't seen this coming. His care for her confused and scared her. It also filled her with delight. She loved him and she was sure he loved her as well, this only confirmed her suspicions. But what could she do? Tell him how she felt and live happily ever after? No, they didn't live in a fairytale, this was the real world. Maybe someday it would work, before or after Tony saved the world from a near apocalypse or something but, not now.

Tony entered the spare bedroom. There was no need to search for Pepper as she was still in recovery mode and couldn't go far, not even on her new crutches. Tony had provided her with a private physical therapist to help her grow stronger day by day. Mr. Stark paid the doctor a hefty fee to keep his mouth shut about her condition and location. He didn't want the press to know anything other than what he had told them.

Miss Potts was sitting on the bed watching the television. Tony glanced over at the TV and was about to ask what was on when she seemed to read his mind, "Have you seen our stock?"

"Stock?" he repeated in confusion, and then turned to look at the screen, "You know those are just a bunch of random numbers made up by the media."

"Ours is down." She didn't sound too happy.

"Lies."

Pepper sighed, "Tony we need our numbers to stay up."

He shrugged, "So they're having performance issues, it happens."

Pepper tilted her head, ignoring Tony's one track mind, "You know what I mean."

The TV stock announcer continued to shred Tony's company, "Stark Industries better kiss there days of glory good bye! Tony is no Howard Stark that's-"

"Mute." Tony didn't like listening to this trash-talk, he moved over to the screen and touched it, "I no longer like this channel." he tossed CNBC into the little trashcan icon on the side, "Now here's something better to watch." He opened up CNN which started playing footage of a village in China.

"I was watching that."

"Now you're not."

"Our stock is important." Pepper pleaded

"Iron Man's stock is good. No performance issues there." He grinned.

"Iron Man doesn't have stock."

"Well he should, he just saved a village in China." He gestured to the screen behind him which showed Iron Man clearing tourists out of a little village.

"Wait, but how were you-"

He shrugged, "It was a few hours ago. There were terrorists; I stopped them, lives saved. Seriously, we should be celebrating my awesomeness right now."

How could egotistical smugness appear so adorable to her? Pepper's lips curled into an amused smile, "Did you forget I'm the one who called you up here Mr. Save-the-World?"

"Only China, not the world…today." He replied.

"Uh-huh. Could you save that pillow over there-" she pointed, "and give it to me."

"Is that all you wanted?" he easily walked over and picked up the pillow. He tossed it over to the bed.

She looked at the pillow on the edge of the bed. The one thing Tony had not anticipated while making the service button was Pepper abusing the system. She didn't realize she had started doing it. It began when she had gotten used to his consistent service and started to ask for more. It was small at first but then the requests become constant and petty. Pepper looked up at Tony, "I can't reach that."

"Really?" He looked at the pillow; it was within arm's reach for her, "What are you doing with that therapist? I thought you were getting healthier. Are you two playing strip poker or something because I'm not paying him enough for that…and why wasn't I invited, clearly I am hurt."

"The pillow."

"Your foot is in the cast not your hand." He walked over and picked up the pillow replacing it next to her.

"Could you fluff it?"

He stared at her. What was happening here? Tony tilted his head and stared at her. This was still Pepper, right? Not some evil robot sent to replace her and annoy Tony. Maybe a hologram. He walked over and poked Pepper's forehead.

"What are you doing?" She asked in confusion.

"Making sure you're real. Have you been taking too many drugs? How many fingers am I holding up?" He quickly held up five fingers, then two, then three.

"Tony! I'm fine." She pushed his hand out of the way.

"Did you get infected with gamma radiation? Is this Hulk Pepper?"

She was clearly annoyed now, "Do I look green?"

He paused and stared into her eyes, studying them, "Are you angry?"

"Well, you're making me." Pepper glared back.

"Hmm, maybe I haven't pushed the limit."

"Oh you're pushing Tony." She replied. "And why would you think I'm the Hulk, because I want you to fluff my pillow?"

"Hey hey hey, no Pepper smashing Tony ok?" He held up his hands, "Do you hear yourself? You asked me to fluff your pillow. You really don't hear how ridiculous that is?" he watched her for some realization but Pepper turned away and crossed her arms. Tony formed his next words carefully, "Pep, we need to talk."

She rolled her eyes, still not understanding why fluffing her pillow was so wrong.

"Pepper…Miss Potts, you've been somewhat of a demanding slave monger-"

"What!"

"-the past two weeks. The two weeks before that you were fine but, I think my tech has corrupted you." Tony sat down on the bed next to her.

She looked down at her lap; she seemed to be deep in thought, pondering what he had said. Pepper bit her lip and looked over at Tony with a look of sympathy. She had realized how she had been acting. She had been horrible to Tony demanding so much of him at all hours of the day. Getting her favorite meal, making sure her cat was being feed by the neighbors, filling her baths, giving her ice, getting her whatever book or magazine she demanded (even before it was on the shelves)…she felt awful. He always demanded so much of her and so in a way her mind must have justified it. "Oh Tony, I was so, I can't believe" she sighed, "I'm sorry."

Tony smiled, "Better." She smiled as well and they gazed at each other in silence for a moment. "You know" he continued, "there was something you didn't ask me to do." He smirked.

Color rushed to her cheeks and she shook her head, and laughed lightly. She knew where he was going with this, "And I won't ask you."

"But-"

"No." She replied with a playful smile on her face.

"Well," Tony stood, "since my services are no longer needed here I'm going to attend to some papers, and then, more papers. Do the papers ever end?"

"No, not really."

"Great." He turned to leave and then paused, by the door frame looking back at her, "Will that be all Miss Potts?" Tony smiled.

Pepper smiled back at the familiar phrase they often exchanged, "Yes, that will be all, Mr. Stark."

They looked at each other for another moment. Studying each other's eyes till Tony broke off to head down to his_ Fortress of Documentation_.

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